Aetherius Society

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to Lord Lester of Herne Hill of 30 March 2009,  Official Report, House of Lords, column 203WA, on places of religious worship, whether funding has been allocated to the Aetherius Society  (a) from her Department and  (b) under any programmes that her Department funds.

Sadiq Khan: The Aetherius Society has not applied for or received funding from any programme supported by the Department.

Empty Property

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes had been empty for more than six months in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency on the latest date for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr. Vara) on 16 December 2008,  Official Report, column 586W. Data are not available at a constituency level.

Housing Market

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the net cost to the public purse of the changes to the measures to support the housing market announced in the Budget 2009 in each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: The measures to support the housing market include a £605 million funding package for house building (including a housing environmental package), £90 million to extend the stamp duty land tax holiday, £235 million to help those facing difficulties with their mortgage payments, and £120 million extra support for the devolved administrations. The costs of and receipts (where applicable), over each of the next three years, are reported in tables 1 and 2. The differences between Table 1 and Table 2 represent the net cost to the public purse.
	
		
			  Table 1: Budget 2009 housing market measure, costs (£ million)( 1) 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  Total 
			 Stalled sites 320 80 0 400 
			 LA house building 30 70 0 100 
			 Housing environmental package 75 30 0 105 
			 Stamp duty land Tax Holiday 90 0 0 90 
			 Additional resources for preventing repossessions and evictions(2) 50 50 0 100 
			 Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) 135 0 0 135 
			 Extra devolved administration funding (Barnett formula) 85 35 0 120 
			 Total 785 265 0 1,050 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest £5 million (2) Includes MRS 
		
	
	Receipts back to the Government will accrue from elements of the stalled sites package, specifically from the Equity, Gap and Infrastructure and Homebuy Direct measures:
	
		
			  Table 2: Budget 2009 housing market measure receipts (£ million) 
			   Stalled sites 
			   
			 2009-10 0 
			 2010-11 110 
			 2011-12 10 
			 Total 120

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what additional funding will be provided to the Homebuy Direct scheme as a result of the Budget 2009; and how many additional homes it is expected to purchase;
	(2)  how many homes she expects to be purchased under the Homebuy Direct scheme in each of the next three years.

Margaret Beckett: I announced in December 2008 that sufficient funding had been made available to help up to 18,000 first time buyers enter affordable home ownership through the HomeBuy Direct scheme by the end of 2009-10. The actual number of transactions will depend on take-up.
	£400 million of additional funding will be made available as a result of the Budget to unlock currently stalled housing developments, leveraging in private development finance through a combination of reducing up-front costs with equity, gap and infrastructure funding, and additional funding for social and affordable housing. We estimate that this will provide up to 5,000 properties over the next two years to help first time buyers, including through our HomeBuy Direct and Rent to HomeBuy schemes. The precise amount of additional funding provided to the HomeBuy Direct scheme will depend on the sites that come forward from developers, and ultimately on take-up by buyers.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 886-87W, on housing: low incomes, how much of the funding originally intended for allocation to local authorities in 2010-11 has been brought forward for use in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Sadiq Khan: Communities and Local Government brought forward £1,475 million from 2010-11 as a result of initiatives announced in the September Housing Package and pre-Budget report. £250 million of this had been allocated for the Decent Homes programme. £130 has been brought forward to 2008-09 and £120 million to 2009-10.
	In addition, the Department has already allocated £162 million to local authorities from a total pot of up to £175 million brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10 to accelerate major repairs to council housing stock.

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average house price in 2008-09 prices was in each region in each of the last 10 years.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government currently have house price data up to February 2009. The following table shows regional mix-adjusted house prices at 2008 prices calculated using regional mix-adjusted average purchase prices of domestic dwellings based on data from the Regulated Mortgage Survey and the ONS Retail Price Index.
	
		
			  Mix-adjusted house prices by region at 2008 prices 
			   North East  North West  Yorkshire and the Humber  East Midlands  West Midlands  East  London  South East  South West  England 
			 1999 82,941 93,709 87,847 92,897 105,601 133,147 195,981 161,671 119,700 129,882 
			 2000 84,002 98,285 90,077 101,231 116,109 149,740 220,384 185,690 133,954 144,212 
			 2001 86,336 105,428 96,471 110,593 122,955 160,718 233,444 199,615 147,375 152,639 
			 2002 100,440 120,837 114,733 135,939 147,042 192,915 252,299 228,651 178,940 175,645 
			 2003 112,068 129,089 127,156 157,830 157,454 215,030 280,171 252,494 202,075 196,476 
			 2004 139,511 153,762 151,038 174,117 178,050 226,865 295,987 262,001 220,237 212,829 
			 2005 147,467 163,462 160,296 178,210 183,413 228,466 297,954 260,746 222,889 216,027 
			 2006 151,239 165,471 165,459 176,246 184,173 229,153 305,163 260,942 224,470 217,616 
			 2007 153,986 168,452 170,076 179,332 185,493 240,261 342,257 277,564 233,413 230,029 
			 2008 144,528 157,685 159,253 166,079 172,059 228,737 331,454 265,829 218,281 218,327 
		
	
	In January of each year the mix adjustment weights are revised to reflect the pattern of property transactions during the previous three years. The mix-adjusted average prices for the rest of the year are then determined using the new weights. Consequently house prices between years cannot be compared because the years' weights are different.

Planning Permission: Sustainable Development

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent steps she has taken to increase efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in the planning system; and what recent steps she has taken to ensure that the planning system facilitates sustainable development.

Iain Wright: Since 1997 we have made significant progress in improving the planning system.
	Through the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and Planning Policy Statement 1 (PPS1) we have put the delivery of sustainable development at heart of the planning system. Alongside PPS1 we have introduced clear national policy on the role of planning in addressing climate change: tackling climate change is now firmly at the centre of what is expected from good planning.
	More recently, the 2008 Planning Act provides for the creation of a more efficient, effective and transparent development consent regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects. It provides for ministers to set out the national need for infrastructure in National Policy Statements, a new single consent regime to replace the eight existing development consent regimes for nationally significant infrastructure projects, and the establishment of an independent Infrastructure Planning Commission to examine and (where a relevant National Policy Statement is in force) determine applications made under this new regime, at the same time locking more meaningful public involvement into each stage of the process. The aim is to reduce the time taken from application to decision to under a year in the majority of cases, saving up to an estimated £300 million a year. Under the Act, ministers must, when preparing National Policy Statements, do so with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development, and all NPSs will be subject to an appraisal of sustainability, ensuring that sustainable development is at the heart of the new regime.
	In late 2008, we introduced changes to permitted development for certain householder extensions and loft conversions, which is expected to remove about 80,000 applications a year from the system.
	The process of planning reform is continuing. In March this year, the Government set out their response to the Killian Pretty review, which sets out an ambitious programme of further improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning application process.
	In addition, the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill introduces a clear duty for responsible regional authorities, when preparing their new integrated regional strategies, to exercise their functions with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. There is also a requirement for regional strategies to include policies designed to contribute to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change.

Regional Planning and Development

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding for infrastructure was allocated by her Department to the Milton Keynes/South Midlands Growth Area in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09.

Iain Wright: The Department for Communities and Local Government provides funding to support local infrastructure in growth areas and growth points through the Growth Fund and the Community Infrastructure Fund, which is a joint fund with the Department for Transport. The Growth Fund and Community Infrastructure Fund are additional to mainstream departmental funding in areas such as health, education and national transport networks.
	Funding is allocated to local authorities, and to transport authorities for the Community Infrastructure Fund, rather than on a growth area wide basis. The funding allocated to growth locations through the Growth Fund and Community Infrastructure Fund in 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09 is shown in table 1. The total funding allocated to locations across the Milton Keynes South Midlands (MKSM) growth area over this period was £298.2 million.
	In addition, funding allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11, and the second round of the Community Infrastructure Fund have now been announced, and are shown in table 2. A further £128.08 million funding has been allocated to growth locations across the Milton Keynes South Midlands growth area over this period.
	
		
			  Table 1: funding across the MKSM growth area 2006-09 
			  £ million 
			   Growth  f unds  Community Infrastructure Fund, round 1 
			  Places  2006-07  2007-08  2000 -09( 1)  Total  2006- 07  to  200 7- 08 
			 Aylesbury Vale 5.28 7.45 4.78 17.51 22.63 
			 Milton Keynes 11.04 10.15 10.2 31.39 33.42 
			 West Northants 22.34 17.71 13.38 53.43 19.92 
			 North Northants 5.4 15.77 11.98 33.15 7.4 
			 Luton/South Beds 6.69 9.59 10.69 26.97 14.5 
			 Bedford/Marston Vale 5.62 14.5 5.8 25.92 0 
			 Northamptonshire County(2) 5.49 6.5 0 11.99 0 
			 Sub total 61.86 81.67 56.83 200.36 97.87 
			 Total growth funds and CIF funds298.23  
			  Note: £17.7 million from the CIF1 allocation was carried forward into 2008-09 to support seven projects whose timetable had slipped. (1) 2008-09—figures show the first of three year unringfenced block funding allocations covering the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. (2) Northamptonshire County—figures include strategic projects to support the county as a whole. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: funding across the MKSM growth area 2009-011 
			  £ million 
			   Growth funds  Community Infrastructure Fund, round 2 
			  Places  2009-10  2010-11  Total  2009-10 to 2010-11 
			 Aylesbury Vale 4.7 4.74 9.44 4.55 
			 Milton Keynes 9.1 9.13 18.23 5.6 
			 West Northants 12.74 12.48 25.22 6.87 
			 North Northants 11.55 11.59 23.14 6.6 
			 Luton/South Beds 5.82 5.33 11.15 l 
			 Bedford /Marston Vale 8.12 8.16 16.28 0 
			 Sub total 52.03 51.43 103.46 24.62 
			 Total growth funds and CIF 128.08

Rented Housing: Public Consultation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 79W, on tenant services authority, how many people attended each National Conversation event for  (a) landlords and  (b) tenants.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, South (Margaret Moran) on 26 March 2009,  Official Report, column 732W.

Zero Carbon Hub

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 892W, on the zero carbon hub, if she will place in the Library a copy of each regular report made to date.

Iain Wright: The reports referred to are being made available on the Zero Carbon Hub's website:
	www.zerocarbonhub.org

RAF Welford: Security

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes of 17 November 2008,  Official Report, column 153W, on RAF Welford, whether the security enhancements at RAF Welford have been completed; and whether a complement of Ministry of Defence police remains stationed at the base.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 November 2008,  Official Report, column 153W, to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker). Although significant progress has been made, the security enhancements at RAF Welford are not yet complete. The Ministry of Defence police will not be withdrawn from RAF Welford until the necessary security enhancements at the base have been completed.

Community Relations: Contracts

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 226W, on terrorism: finance, whether any of the projects to tackle radicalisation and promote understanding overseas are being delivered by subcontractors.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provides funding to a range of organisations to "deliver projects which tackle radicalisation and promote tolerance. These organisations are primarily responsible for delivery of projects but are able, under the grant agreement, to sub-contract parts of the project to other organisations or individuals, for example where specialist skills or knowledge are required.
	Implementers are chosen according to a rigorous selection board, and their own implementation of the project held to account on a regular basis by review, monitoring and evaluation. This includes the implementer's financial management and choice of subcontractors. Choice of subcontractors must be undertaken in accordance with proper procurement principles. The FCO, as the contracting authority, retains the right to dismiss any subcontractor whose performance is demonstrated to be unsatisfactory through the regular monitoring and evaluation processes.

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 15 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2185W, on Iran: nuclear weapons, if his Department will assess the effect of  (a) EU and  (b) UN sanctions on the Iranian (i) economy and (ii) nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes.

David Miliband: There are no plans at present to issue a formal study on the effect of EU and UN sanctions on the Iranian economy and nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes. However, we regularly monitor the impact of sanctions on Iran.
	Our assessment is that UN sanctions have made it more difficult for Iran to procure items for its nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes. Sanctions continue to affect parts of the Iranian economy, particularly through the disruption of the international operations of a number of Iranian companies and those Iranian banks listed in the sanctions. Anecdotal evidence from sources inside Iran indicates that sanctions have increased the inconvenience and general cost of doing business.
	EU sanctions, which implement and go beyond UN measures, have had a similar effect on a larger number of individuals and entities.

Pakistan

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Pakistani Government on  (a) power-sharing arrangements between the provincial and federal governments in and  (b) the distribution of funding to different parts of that country; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: These issues are raised as part of our ongoing co-operation with the Government of Pakistan in its efforts to establish strong democratic frameworks at federal and provincial levels.
	During a visit to Pakistan in July 2008, my right hon. Friend Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), offered to share UK experience of public administration of central and local government. This was reiterated when Sadiq Khan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in DCLG, visited Pakistan in April 2009.
	During discussions involving officials from our High Commission in Islamabad, in preparation for the 17 April 2009 Tokyo Donors' Conference, Pakistan's Secretary for Finance recognised that the Government of Pakistan's budgetary allocation gives insufficient weight to the North West Frontier Province, Baluchistan and the Federally administered tribal areas. Pakistan wants assistance from the World Bank to establish a Trust Fund for the border areas which will also provide for governance reform there. The UK supports this initiative.
	The UK also supports the Government of Pakistan in distributing funding throughout Pakistan through the Department for International Development's (DSD) Development Partnership Arrangement. DFTD gives budget support to the Government of Pakistan to help it increase spending on sectors such as health and education, and to reduce poverty. DFTD works to improve the capacity of provincial governments to manage their human and financial resources. DFTD is also planning substantial support for the education sector in the provinces of Punjab, Balochistan and North West Frontier province.

Departmental Internet

David Gauke: To ask the Prime Minister whether the recording of his statement on hon. Members' allowances uploaded to his YouTube channel on 21 April required more than one take.

Gordon Brown: The recording is available on the Downing street YouTube channel.

Banks: Iran

William Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions since November 2008 his Department has exercised its powers under Schedule 7 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 in respect of Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: In its advisory notice of 11 March 2009 HM Treasury made clear that in the light of the call by the Financial Action Task Force for countermeasures against Iran the UK is considering what further action is required.
	No directions with respect to Iran have been issued under Schedule 7 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008.

Departmental Conferences

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 840W, on the economic situation, what the cost of his Department's Annual Conference on 9 and 10 March 2009 was, broken down by category of expenditure.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given today UIN 268013 to the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Mr. Moore).

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1464W on Departmental Training, how much was spent by his Department on ministerial training on handling the media as part of their continuing development.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development has spent £4,050 on ministerial media training.

Non-Governmental Organisations

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which non-governmental organisations have received funds from the public purse to conduct aid work in Iraq in the last five years; and how much each received.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided funding directly to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Iraq over the last five years through two principal mechanisms: the Political Participation Fund and the Civil Society Fund.
	The £5 million Iraq Civil Society Fund (CSF) supported projects that strengthened the capacity of Iraqi, civil society organisations through partnerships with international NGOs. Funding was given to Christian Aid, Save the Children (UK), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Help Age International, Women for Women International, Salvation Army, International Centre for Trade Union Rights, UNISON and the Women's National Commission. These NGOs, in turn, partnered a range of Iraqi organisations.
	The £7.5 million Political Participation Fund (PPF) provided grants to grass-roots Iraqi civil society organisations to enable potentially marginalised groups to participate in the political process. Under the PPF, the international NGOs we supported were AMAR, Arab Gulf Studies Centre, Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), and the Irish Human Rights Network.
	We have also contributed £55 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross for their humanitarian appeals during 2003-2009. We also provided recent funding directly to the BBC World Service Trust, to strengthen independent television and radio broadcasting in southern Iraq; and to the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC), to support development of the Iraqi justice sector.
	Since 2003 DFID has also provided approximately £130 million of funding to UN agencies to support the most vulnerable people displaced inside Iraq and in the region. The UN agencies themselves pass the majority of these funds onto the international NGOs who act as the UN's implementing partners.
	Finally, DFID has agreed Partnership Programme Arrangements to provide core funding to a number of major international NGOs. Of those, Oxfam, Islamic Relief and CAFOD all have programmes in Iraq.
	The following table shows our direct disbursements to NGOs in Iraq during the last five financial years:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Civil Society Fund (CSF) 2.2 1.7 1.05 0.02 0 
			 Political Participation Fund (PPF) 1.7 2.3 0.06 1.5 0 
			 BBC-WST 0.1 0.02 0 0 0 
			 BBC Al Mirbad 1.6 2.5 2.6 0.9 1.2 
			 Media IWPR 0.9 0.01 0 0 0 
			 War Child 0.1 0 0 0 0 
			 MAG 0.01 0 0 0 0 
			 MAG North 0.2 0 0 0 0 
			 ILAC 1.4 0.7 0.1 0 0 
			 ACTED 0.2 0 0 0 0 
			 AMAR 0.3 0.2 0 0 0 
			 Solidarities Programme 0 0.07 0.08 0 0 
			 International Committee of the Red Cross Appeals 16 10 4 7 6 
			 SCF Security Enhancement 0.02 0.09 0.04 0.04 0 
			 CARE 0.4 0.01 0 0 0 
			 Total 25.1 17.6 7.9 9.4 7.2

Coal Fired Power Stations

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wealdon of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, column 525W, on Kingsnorth power station, when he plans to issue his consultation on a new framework for coal-fired power stations.

Mike O'Brien: The timetable for publication of a planned new consultation on a new framework for coal fired power stations is currently under consideration.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 357, what percentage of GDP the Government are allocating to measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 2009 and 2020.

Joan Ruddock: The recently published impact assessment used the HMRC's macroeconomic model to estimate that the cost of meeting our EU and UK greenhouse gas (GHG) targets would be 0.35 per cent. of GDP in 2020, in the absence of an international deal on climate change. This is in line with the Committee on Climate Change's estimate that the cost of meeting our carbon budgets is less than 1 per cent. of GDP in 2020.
	However the cost will come from a combination of private and Government expenditure, depending on the specific policies put in place to deliver the greenhouse gas reductions in each sector of the economy.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford's letters of 18 and 22 September 2008 transferred from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR Reference: 96790/96957) concerning Mr A Hall and Mrs Patricia Yelf Gustar, both of Chelmsford; and what the reasons are for the time taken to reply.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to his parliamentary question number 272000 today.

Parliamentary Questions: Government Responses

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to Question 248582, on replying to letters, tabled on 13 January 2009; and what the reasons are for the time taken to reply.

Mike O'Brien: I apologise that the hon. Member did not receive an answer to his question tabled on 13 January 2009 concerning replies to letters of 18 and 22 September 2008 on behalf of Mrs. P Y Gulstar and Mr. A Hall. I replied to these letters on 13 November and 31 October 2008 respectively and officials have resent copies of my replies.

Natural Gas: Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Environment Agency is taking to investigate the circumstances of the spillage at Calor Gas's Canvey Island site on 25 October 2008.

Jane Kennedy: The Environment Agency is not aware of a separate incident that occurred at the Calor Gas site at Canvey Island on 25 October.
	However, an incident on 27 October 2008 involved the spillage of liquid petroleum gas following the failure of pipework. The Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are the joint competent authorities for the site. The Environment Agency and the HSE agreed that the HSE would lead the investigation with assistance from the Environment Agency if required.
	As a result of the HSE led investigation, the Environment Agency has not entered into discussions with the company concerning the specific circumstances surrounding the spillage. However, the Environment Agency continues to undertake its normal regulatory activities at the site.

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2479W, on the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre: Government Departments, how much it cost her Department to hire the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre for its leadership away day; and for what reasons the event was not held in departmental buildings.

Phil Woolas: The Government's London estate has limited conference facilities and so from time to time the Home Office and other Departments are required to hire external venues for events.
	We are not able to reveal the cost of the booking as this is a commercially sensitive issue between the Home Office and the QEII Centre.
	The QEII Centre is owned by the Crown (Department for Communities and Local Government).

14 Tothill Street

Caroline Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 26W, on 14 Tothill Street, what the length of the lease on 14 Tothill Street is; and what the annual rent will be when it is fully operational.

Nick Harvey: The lease is for 16 years from October 2007 with a break after eight years. The House of Commons share of the annual rent is £2.1 million plus VAT.

Departmental Operating Costs

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written ministerial statement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of 12 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 116-19WS, on departmental expenditure limits, what increased operating costs relating to the introduction of the Employment and Support Allowance were incurred by his Department.

Bridget Prentice: The Tribunals Service received £695,000 in the Spring Supplementary Estimate to process 3,665 cases forecast for 2008-09. A further £760,000 was also paid by DWP to the Legal Services Commission for people who might require legal aid in appealing against ESA decisions. Together, the Spring Supplementary payments total £1,455,000.

Electoral Register: Commonwealth

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1214-5W, on electoral register: Commonwealth, whether a person from a Commonwealth country resident in the UK on a student visa issued under tier 4 of the points-based system is eligible to vote in a general election.

Michael Wills: A person is entitled to be registered as a parliamentary elector if he or she is resident in the relevant constituency, is of voting age, is not subject to a legal incapacity to vote (age apart), and is either a British citizens, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.
	As explained in my answer on 18 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1214-5W, under the Representation of the People Act 1983, "qualifying Commonwealth citizen" is defined as a Commonwealth citizen who either does not require leave to enter or remain under the Immigration Act 1971 or who does require leave, but for the time being has any description of such leave. This means that if a person who requires leave to enter or remain has been granted leave to enter or remain then he or she will be deemed to be a qualifying Commonwealth citizen.
	Commonwealth citizens who have leave to enter or remain will have been granted this leave under any of the current or previous categories of the immigration rules, including as the spouse of a British Citizen, as a highly skilled migrant, work permit holder, student, under any of the new points based system categories or as dependants of any "lead" migrants granted leave under these categories.
	This will include a citizen from a Commonwealth country who has obtained leave to enter or remain under the previous immigration rules relating to students, or since 31 March 2009, leave to enter or remain under tier 4 of the points based-system. Accordingly, provided they meet the other criteria for registration set out above, such a person would be entitled to be included in the register of parliamentary electors.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the Prime Minister's response of 22 April 2009 to the e-petition submitted by Miss A Birt and others on the extension to Northern Ireland of the Abortion Act 1967, when he expects the Northern Ireland Assembly to assume responsibility for criminal law in Northern Ireland, including the law on abortion; what recent representations he has received on this issue; what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the issue; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The announcement by the Northern Ireland First and Deputy First Ministers on 18 November 2008 set out a process, the completion of which would see policing and justice matters devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The process is continuing to move forward. The Northern Ireland Act 2009 provided the necessary legislative framework for the Assembly to move to the next stage of that process. It will be for the Assembly to decide when to request the transfer of powers but the Government remain committed to doing whatever it can to facilitate progress towards devolution.
	I continue to receive correspondence from people in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK both supporting and opposing any changes to the law on abortion in Northern Ireland. The Government's position remains that these are matters best dealt with by the Northern Ireland Assembly when it assumes responsibility for the criminal law.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will respond to the hon. Member for Billericay's letter of 9 February 2009, on his constituent Mr G. Bores.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport has no record of receiving a letter dated 9 February 2009 from the hon. Member for West Billericay.

Children: Employment

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1275W, on children: employment, what plans he has to amend regulations relating to the employment of children; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We do not currently have plans to amend the regulations relating to the employment of children. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has however issued guidance, in December 2008, on the existing law regulating child employment.

Departmental Meetings

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which officials from his Department were present at the meeting of 17 June 2008 between the Minister for Schools and David Gee; who took the minutes of that meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 28 April 2009
	I met with David Gee on 17 June 2008 to discuss National Curriculum testing. Also present at the meeting were the Chief Adviser for School Standards, the assessment team leader, and my Private Secretary, who took a note of the meeting.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what mechanism exists for the reappraisal of eligibility for education maintenance allowance as a result of changes in household income;
	(2)  what effect the redundancy of a family member in a household has on a young person's eligibility for education maintenance allowance if the redundancy occurs  (a) at the start of the academic year and  (b) later in the academic year;
	(3)  what mechanism is in place for the assistance of young people in households where income changes significantly in the course of an academic year as a result of  (a) bereavement and  (b) redundancy within the household;
	(4)  what recent assessment he has made of the financial needs of young people in households where income is significantly reduced because of redundancy;
	(5)  how many representations his Department has received on the reassessment of the eligibility for education maintenance allowance following the redundancy of a family member in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: For most young people, eligibility for education maintenance allowance (EMA) is subject to an assessment of their household income based on the financial year prior to the academic year in which they start their course. A successful assessment provides a young person with a guaranteed entitlement of up to three years of EMA on the same rate, plus a guaranteed minimum level of non-repayable student support should they progress into higher education within three years.
	If there is a drop in income from one year to the next then a young person may apply to be reassessed for the subsequent academic year. They could be assessed as eligible for EMA where they were not previously, or an increased rate of it. They would receive the EMA guarantee based on the rate awarded following the most recent assessment.
	There are a limited number of exceptional circumstances in which a young person may apply to be reassessed for EMA during the academic year. Those circumstances are:
	(i) someone whose income was taken into account in determining financial eligibility has died;
	(ii) a person whose income was taken into account in determining financial eligibility has experienced a reduction in income due to their own disability, or the disability of any other person for whom he or she has responsibility as primary carer (disability means as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995);
	(iii) Since the assessment of income was made, the young person has become estranged from their parents, guardians or someone else whose income was taken into account in determining financial eligibility;
	(iv) The young person has become a parent with responsibility for their own child.
	The financial needs of young people can be affected by a range of circumstances, including reductions in household income due to redundancy, or reduced working hours. EMA is not designed or intended to meet all of a learner's financial needs or to respond to in year fluctuations to household income. Other mechanisms exist to help with the costs of supporting young people aged 16 to 19 in learning. Recent increases to child benefit will provide additional support for parents regardless of income, and the increase to the child element of the child tax credit, a measure brought forward in the Budget, will provide substantial additional support to families. Tax credits are designed to tailor support to current circumstances and to be responsive to changing needs.
	In addition to the support provided to families, discretionary learner support funds are made available via the Learning and Skills Council to colleges and Local Authorities. This funding is provided to enable schools and colleges, using their discretion, to help individual learners facing hardship and financial barriers to learning that are not addressed through other mechanisms. This funding can be used to respond to any hardship needs of learners that may arise through sudden changes in circumstance.
	In the last 12 months the Department has responded to 21 pieces of correspondence and one telephone inquiry concerning reassessment for EMA following redundancy in the learner's household. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) are responsible for the delivery of the scheme and estimate that, between 1 March 2008 and 1 March 2009, approximately 10 per cent. of the correspondence they have received about EMA (including that sent on via the Department) concerned income assessment policy—a proportion of these will have been in regard to in year reassessment following a redundancy.

Schools: Transport

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on school transport in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in the latest period for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Figures are not available for the parliamentary constituency of Hemel Hempstead as data is collected at a local authority level. The available information on how much was spent on school transport in the Hertfordshire local authority in the latest period for which figures are available (2007-08) is contained in the following table:
	
		
			   Net current expenditure on home to school transport 
			 England 890,257,904 
			   
			 Hertfordshire 21,560,399 
			  Notes: 1. 2007-08 data remains provisional and subject to change by local authority. 2. Data are drawn from local authorities' 2007-08 Section 52 Outturn Statements (Table A) submitted to the DCSF. 3. Cash term figures as reported by local authorities as at 23 April 2009.

Sixth Form Education: Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what sixth form funding allocation was made for each local education authority by the Learning and Skills Council on  (a) 2 March and  (b) at the end of March; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The LSC hold the information you have requested. Geoff Russell, the LSC's Acting Chief Executive will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries.
	We have been working across Government to identify additional funding for the recent unanticipated surge in demand for education and training in part due to these exceptional economic times. Thanks to the £655 million funding announcement in the Budget, we will be able to deliver this and more, and fund learning for an additional 54,500 young people this year and next.
	The funding is split £251 million in 2009-10 and £404 million in 2010-11 and will fund an additional 54,500 learners each year. This will mean that we have funding for at least 1,550,000 for 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	This will mean we can quickly reassure school and college leaders who had previously feared their financial allocations would not fund their growth in the number of young people wanting to continue learning. It will also mean that we can fund a further 20,000 young people who have yet to make their choice of learning place.
	The LSC are currently working through the final 2009-10 school sixth form and FE college allocations and will be writing out to them as soon as possible.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 271-72W, on special educational needs, what types of expenditure are accounted for within the category of inter-authority recoupment.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The category of inter-authority recoupment reports expenditure and income in relation to the additional costs of educating pupils who live in one local authority but are educated in another local authority. Inter-authority recoupment applies to pupils with statements of special educational needs, those in special schools (with or without statements) and children educated in hospitals or by bedside tuition. The local authority providing the education is entitled to charge the local authority in which the child lives for a contribution to the costs of the education.

Members: Correspondence

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he plans to reply to the letter of 14 November 2008 from the hon. Member for North Norfolk on meetings of the Prime Minister held at Chequers.

Tom Watson: holding answer 12 February 2009
	A response has been sent to the hon. Member.

Public Service Forum

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1453W, on the Public Service Forum, 
	(1)  what the  (a) remit and  (b) function of the Forum is;
	(2)  on what dates the Public Service Forum has met; who attended each meeting; and what the dates are of meetings of the Forum scheduled in the next 12 months.

Tom Watson: The Public Services Forum (PSF) was formed in 2003. It's aim is to improve dialogue between Government, public service employers and trade unions on workforce reform issues in public services.
	It has met three times a year until 2008 when this was increased to four times a year. The last meeting of the PSF took place on 5 March 2009.
	The ministerial chair invites public service employers and trade union representatives in roughly equal numbers to attend the PSF and to engage in dialogue with the Government on public service workforce issues. Since 2008, the CBI, Business Services Association, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations and the National Council of Voluntary Organisations have also sent representatives to some meetings.

Public Service Forum

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1453W, on the Public Service Forum, if he will place in the Library a copy of  (a) each set of meeting notes and  (b) the minutes of each meeting of the Forum to date.

Tom Watson: A note of the 5 March 2009 Public Services Forum will be placed in the Library of the House and published on the internet. Each further Public Services Forum meeting will be published on the departmental website.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 943-44W, on trade unions, whether special leave may be granted for trade union representatives to undertake political activities relating to their trade union responsibilities.

Tom Watson: Union representatives are all civil servants and as such are bound by the civil service code.
	The rules relating to civil servants' involvement in political activities, including elected trade union representatives are set out in the civil service management code.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bolton North East of 10 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1923W, on alcoholic drinks: misuse, when he expects figures for alcohol-related admissions to hospital for 2007-08 to be available.

Dawn Primarolo: Figures for 2007-08 for alcohol-related admissions to hospital are shown in the following table.
	Number of alcohol-related finished hospital admissions in England from 2003-04 to 2007-08, the latest year for which figures are available.
	
		
			   Number of alcohol-related finished hospital admissions in England 
			 2003-04 569,418 
			 2004-05 644,184 
			 2005-06 735,512 
			 2006-07 799,118 
			 2007-08 863,257

Prescriptions

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2009,  Official Report, column 252W, if he will bring forward proposals for regulations to require that a patient must be examined by a prescriber before a prescription is issued for a controlled drug; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: We have no plans to regulate the prescribing of controlled drugs in this way. The decision as to when a patient is seen by their prescriber, before the issue of any prescription, is a matter for their professional judgment. In exercising their judgment, they are supported by the issue of guidance by their professional regulator.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to his Financial Statement of 22 April 2009,  Official Report, column 241, what additional funding will be available for capital funding for further education colleges in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11,  (c) 2011-12 and  (d) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Budget 2009 announced additional capital funding of 300 million for this spending review period (2009-10 and 2010-11), which will allow the Learning and Skills Council to give approval to a limited number of projects starting in 2009-10.
	Recognising the long-term nature of capital projects, the Government are planning a continuing FE capital investment programme in future years, with a planning assumption of 300 million a year from 2011-12 to 2013-14 to be confirmed at the next Spending Review.
	This provides a provisional 1.2 billion in total to 2013-14 which should allow us to develop around 750 million of new schemes.

Civil Servants: Pensions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1446-7W, on civil servants: pensions, how many civil servants have pension funds invested in  (a) Standard Life and  (b) Scottish Widows with-profits funds according to records held by the Pensions Regulator.

Tom Watson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Pension Regulator does not hold this information. The most recent information provided to the managers of the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme indicates that, as at 31 December 2008, 475 civil servants had with-profits investments with Standard Life and 4,445 with Scottish Widows.

Departmental Complaints

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to address the issues of maladministration raised in the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report, Putting Things Right: complaints and learning from DWP of 30 March 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP is the biggest delivery department in the UK, serving over 20 million customers at any one time and, as the Public Accounts Committee recently noted, the overall level of complaints which the Department receives is small compared with the number of customers it serves and the number of contacts which it has every working day with those customers. Every opportunity is taken to ensure that the Department's customers receive excellent service but, as the ombudsman has said, an organisation of the size and complexity of DWP will always receive complaints. Where mistakes happen, the Department seeks to ensure that these are handled and resolved as quickly and as satisfactorily as possible.
	The ombudsman's reports, together with those from the independent case examiner, are used as an important source of information on where systems improvements are required. The content of these reports is shared both within the Agencies and, where appropriate, more widely within the Department to ensure that lessons are learned and that changes are made where necessary.
	The 'learning for the future' section of the ombudsman's report outlines a number of the actions already taken to address the specific issues raised in her investigations, and how the Department has taken a number of steps that go beyond simply implementing the recommendations made. For example, the Department has reviewed its guidance to staff about making redress for the consequences of maladministration and discussed this with the ombudsman and her staff. As a result, a new guide is being developed which will reflect more closely the ombudsman's principles for remedy.
	The Department will continue to work constructively with the ombudsman in seeking to improve the service it provides to customers and in ensuring that changes are made to policies, procedures, systems or staff training as necessary to ensure that where maladministration is identified it is not repeated and that lessons learnt are put into practice.

Pension Credit: Overpayments

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff Central of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 41W, on pension credit: overpayments, how much of the money recovered had originally been overpaid due to  (a) fraud,  (b) official error and  (c) customer error in each month.

Kitty Ussher: The information is in the following table:
	
		
			  Pension credit overpayment recovery by classification, 2007-08 
			  000 
			   A pr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sept  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 Fraud 12 21 23 15 12 16 21 13 18 17 22 19 
			 Official error 159 124 121 125 121 124 176 164 145 122 94 48 
			 Customer error 1,368 1,297 1,374 1,520 1,641 1,790 2,396 1,927 1,756 1,870 1,943 1,666 
			 Other 686 777 801 691 622 574 608 616 412 469 442 478 
		
	
	
		
			  April to September 2008 
			  000 
			   Ap r  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sept 
			 Fraud 19 17 26 37 21 25 
			 Official error 44 24 53 38 32 38 
			 Customer error 1,756 1,922 2,026 2,211 1,808 2,212 
			 Other 616 429 440 600 446 431 
			  Note: April to September 2008 data is indicative only. 
		
	
	Fraud classification relates to where the customer has been convicted or admitted fraud, or accepted an administrative penalty.
	Other classification includes overpayments that have arisen where the Department has not been advised of a death in time to stop an automated payment into an account, or where an overpayment is identified following death.

Social Security Benefits: Control Orders

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 87-8W, on control orders, how much his Department spent on  (a) incapacity benefit,  (b) jobseeker's allowance,  (c) disability living allowance and  (d) income support for individuals subject to control orders in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Jonathan R Shaw: For the period 1 October 2008 to 31 December 2008 the Department for Work and Pensions spent less than 8,000 on those individuals mentioned in  Official Report, columns 87-8W.